You may have seen in the news recently that Parliament has passed the Tobacco and Vapes Act, starting the process of phasing out the legal sale of tobacco in the UK.

On 1 January 2027, this world-leading legislation will raise the age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 19. It will then continue to raise the age of sale by one year every year, making it illegal to ever sell tobacco in the UK to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.

Smoking causes at least 16 different types of cancer, and tobacco causes around 160 cases of cancer every day in the UK. Over the past 10 years, it has also been responsible for more than 800,000 people dying across the country.

In July 2022, CRUK launched its Smokefree UK campaign. Together with campaigners and partners, we called on the UK government for action on tobacco and helped champion this legislation.

This is one of the most significant public health achievements of our time, but there’s been some confusion about how exactly it will work.

In our article “Busting the myths around the Tobacco and Vapes Act”, the team answers the biggest questions around the Act and busts those myths along the way.

If you’d like more information about smoking and cancer or how to stop smoking, check out our website.